02/18 -- Trump regime admits to 11 more maritime murders; Mission Accomplished? A Reality Check on Trump's Tariffs
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Thomas L. Knapp
Feb 18, 2026, 6:15:53 AM (14 days ago) Feb 18
to Freedom News Daily
Freedom News Daily, 02/18/26
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump regime admits to 11 more maritime murders
2) Ukraine war: Peace talks set to continue after “very tense” six-hour summit sees no breakthrough
3) Peru: Congress removes interim President Jerí as he faces corruption allegations
4) Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion proposed settlement over thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits
5) Iran: Regime says progress made in nuclear talks with US regime after partial closure of Strait of Hormuz
6) GA: Driver fleeing violent gang members crashes, killing teacher
7) Ireland: Regime’s “data protection” racketeers tee up payoff demands for X
8) Russia: Kremlin Aide Warns West Over Piracy
9) Kelly tells BBC he will “seriously consider” White House run
10) SpaceX and xAI tapped by Pentagon for autonomous drone contest
11) Australia: Regime won’t repatriate 34 women and children from Syria
12) DC: Partial government shutdown over heimatschutz oversight seems poised to drag on
13) NM: Lawmakers launch sweeping investigation into Epstein ranch
14) NC: Democrats celebrate as 73,000 voters stay on rolls for now
15) Kosovo: On 18th anniversary of independence declaration, thousands march against war crimes trials
16) Warner Bros. Discovery backs Netflix merger while reopening Paramount talks
17) Hegseth orders removal of Army public affairs chief amid broader Pentagon purge
18) Hamas rejects Netanyahu aide’s 60-day ultimatum for group to disarm
19) France: Regime releases suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker after multimillion-euro penalty
20) Five who worked at Texas cattle company indicted, accused of $220 million nationwide fraud scheme
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Mission Accomplished? A Reality Check on Trump’s Tariffs
22) The First Rosa Parks Was Claudette Colvin
23) The Meaning of the “Rules-Based” Order and 75 Years of NATO
24) The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
25) The Political and Personal Case for Linux (Yes, I Am Talking to You)
26) Chatting with Ben about his (and our) challenges
27) Why Politicians Should Stay Inside the Overton Window (Even When the Cause Is Just)
28) Don’t Follow Europe by Over-Regulating AI
29) The Apocalyptic President: The Personification of an Imperial Power (and Planet) in Decline
30) Of Apes and Men
31) Weirdos, Child-Haters, and Other Leftists [sic]
32) The Fallacy Fallacy
33) More Shockingly Honest Confessions From The Empire Managers
34) Goodbye and Good Riddance to the Endangerment Finding
35) Kids are struggling. Banning social media won’t fix that.
36) Freedom at the Extremes: Why Liberty Attracts Both the Brilliant and the Plain
37) Just say no to the “Talking Filibuster” — it’s a waste of time
38) Learning the Bitter Lesson in 2026
39) Further US intervention in Haiti would be worst Trump move of all
40) Weird scenes inside the gold mine
41) Creative Dissent and Mutual Aid: Lessons From Minneapolis for Surviving the Polycrisis
42) ICE Is Freezing Out the Constitution
43) Free to Advise
44) Is Protectionism for National Security Absurd?
45) Biden’s “quiet amnesty” for nearly 1 million illegal [sic] immigrants
46) The Unbearable Intellectual Lightness of the Postliberal Being
47) The Epstein Files: The Blackmail of Billionaire Leon Black and Epstein’s Role in It
48) Insider Trading and the Wolves of Capitol Hill
49) The Quintessential Epstein Files Email
50) Looking back on “Presidents’ Day”
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Trump Watch, 02/17/26
52) The Good Fight, 02/17/26
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 02/17/26
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/17/26
55) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/17/26
56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 427
57) The Corbett Report, episode 492
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/17/26
59) My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, 02/16/26
60) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/16/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump regime admits to 11 more maritime murders
Source: NBC News
“U.S. Southern Command announced that the military launched strikes on three alleged drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean on Monday, [murdering] 11 people. … U.S. Southern Command alleged the three boats were ‘operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.’ The post referred to those [murdered] as ‘male narco-terrorists,’ saying that eight people were killed on two boats in the eastern Pacific and three were [murdered] on a boat in the Caribbean. No U.S. troops were harmed, the post said. The post also said the strikes were conducted at the direction of Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan, who serves as the commander of U.S. Southern Command.” (02/17/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-military-strikes-three-alleged-drug-boats-pacific-caribbean-rcna259364
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2) Ukraine war: Peace talks set to continue after “very tense” six-hour summit sees no breakthrough
Source: Independent [UK]
“Peace talks between Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators are set to resume in Geneva today after a ‘very tense’ session on Tuesday. Six hours of talks took place on Tuesday in a mixture of two-way and three-way formats but yielded no breakthrough,a source told Russian news agencies. ‘They agreed to continue’ on Wednesday, the source said. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the talks ‘brought about meaningful progress’ in Donald Trump’s push to end the Ukraine war. Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky said the US president was exerting undue pressure on the Ukrainian side during the peace process.” (02/18/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-trump-zelensky-putin-peace-talks-b2922462.html
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3) Peru: Congress removes interim President Jerí as he faces corruption allegations
Source: Toronto Star [Canada]
“Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office as he faces corruption allegations, triggering a fresh wave of political instability just weeks before the nation’s April presidential election. Jerí is under a preliminary investigation into corruption and influence peddling, stemming from a series of undisclosed meetings with two Chinese executives. With 75 votes in favor, 24 against and 3 abstentions, Peru’s legislature voted to remove Jerí from the position he had assumed on Oct. 10. His predecessor, Dina Boluarte, was dismissed as a crime wave gripped the country. Jerí’s removal from office is the latest chapter in a prolonged political crisis in a country that has seen seven presidents since 2016, and is about to hold a general election amid widespread public outcry over the surge in violent crime.” (02/17/26)
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/americas/perus-congress-removes-interim-president-jer-as-he-faces-corruption-allegations/article_857e3b13-0631-529d-a10f-586abb3835e9.html
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4) Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion proposed settlement over thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits
Source: Associated Press
“Agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement Tuesday to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer. The proposed settlement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments in April on Bayer’s assertion that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Roundup without a cancer warning should invalidate claims filed in state courts. That case would not be affected by the proposed settlement. But the settlement would eliminate some of the risk from an eventual Supreme Court ruling. Patients would be assured of receiving settlement money even if the Supreme Court rules in Bayer’s favor. And Bayer would be protected from potentially larger costs if the high court rules against it.” (02/17/26)
https://apnews.com/article/bayer-monsanto-roundup-lawsuits-settlement-154ad7c6bdff3a91b06c4e327321160b
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5) Iran: Regime says progress made in nuclear talks with US regime after partial closure of Strait of Hormuz
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Iran and the United States reached an understanding on the main ‘guiding principles’ in a second round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday, but work still needs to be done, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. … After the exchange of documents, the two sides will decide on a date for a third round of negotiations, he said. The U.S. has sent a battle force to the Middle East to press Tehran to make concessions in the decades-long nuclear dispute and President Donald Trump has said ‘regime change’ in Tehran may be the best thing that can happen. Iranian state media reported earlier that Iran would temporarily shut part of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil supply route, as it held talks over its nuclear program with the United States, which has sent a battle force to the Gulf region to press Tehran to make concessions.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-strait-of-hormuz-nucleur-talks-united-states-9.7093310
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6) GA: Driver fleeing violent gang members crashes, killing teacher
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“A Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said. Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside of Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving without a valid license. Lopez, 38, is in the U.S. illegally [sic], according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration officers were looking for Lopez to enforce an immigration judge’s 2024 deportation order, ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams said Tuesday, noting that Lopez has no other [sic] criminal history.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/17/immigration-enforcement-fatal-crash/
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7) Ireland: Regime’s “data protection” racketeers tee up payoff demands for X
Source: The Hill
“Elon Musk’s social media platform X faces a European Union privacy investigation after its Grok AI chatbot started spitting out nonconsensual deepfake images, Ireland’s data privacy regulator said Tuesday. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said it notified X on Monday that it was opening the inquiry under the 27-nation EU’s strict data privacy regulations, adding to the scrutiny X is facing in Europe and other parts of the world over Grok’s behavior. … The watchdog said the investigation will seek to determine whether X complied with the EU data privacy rules known as GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation. Under the rules, the Irish regulator takes the lead on enforcing the bloc’s privacy rules because X’s European headquarters is in Dublin. Violations can result in hefty fines.” (02/17/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/ap-grok-faces-more-scrutiny-over-deepfakes-as-irish-regulator-opens-eu-privacy-investigation-2/
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8) Russia: Kremlin Aide Warns West Over Piracy
Source: US News & World Report
“Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its vessels and may retaliate against European shipping if Russian ships are taken, Nikolai Patrushev, one of Russia’s leading hardliners, was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Western states have sought to cripple Russia’s economy with sanctions and in recent months have tried to block oil tankers suspected of involvement in Russian oil shipments. In January, [US-based pirates] seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker as part of efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports. Patrushev, a Kremlin aide who is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia needed to give a tough response — particularly towards Britain, France and Baltic states.” (02/17/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-02-17/putin-ally-warns-european-powers-over-seizure-of-russian-vessels
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9) Kelly tells BBC he will “seriously consider” White House run
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“US Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has said he will ‘seriously consider’ running for president in 2028 as he battles the Trump administration over a video in which he urged military personnel to refuse illegal orders. The Arizona senator, who was accused of ‘seditious behaviour’ by Donald Trump over the November clip, said he and his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, received ‘many’ death threats after the president’s comments. ‘We get them on a weekly basis now,’ he told BBC Newsnight. ‘We had to get security to protect us 24 hours a day.’ Asked if he was considering a White House run, the retired Navy captain said he was considering it ‘because we’re in some seriously challenging times.’ The 61-year-old, who is a former astronaut, noted he was very different from most senators.” (02/17/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9gdvl4zv4o
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10) SpaceX and xAI tapped by Pentagon for autonomous drone contest
Source: Teslarati
“SpaceX and its AI subsidiary xAI are reportedly competing in a new Pentagon prize challenge focused on autonomous drone swarming technology, as per a report from Bloomberg News. The six-month competition was launched in January and is said to carry a $100 million award. Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and xAI are among a select group invited to participate in the Defense Department’s effort to develop advanced drone swarming capabilities. The goal is reportedly to create systems that can translate voice commands into digital instructions and manage fleets of autonomous drones.” (02/17/26)
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-xai-tapped-pentagon-autonomous-drone-contest/
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11) Australia: Regime won’t repatriate 34 women and children from Syria
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“The Australian government will not repatriate from Syria a group of 34 women and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday. The women and children from 11 families were supposed to fly from the Syrian capital Damascus to Australia but Syrian authorities on Monday turned them back to Roj camp in northeast Syria because of procedural problems, officials said. Only two groups of Australians have been repatriated with government help from Syrian camps since the fall of the Islamic State group in 2019. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance. Albanese would not comment on a report that the latest women and children had Australian passports.” (02/17/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5716762/australia-wont-repatriate-34-women-and-children-from-syria
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12) DC: Partial government shutdown over heimatschutz oversight seems poised to drag on
Source: SFGate
“Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise over the holiday weekend in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump ’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures are narrowly confined, affecting only agencies under the DHS umbrella, including the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/the-latest-partial-government-shutdown-over-dhs-21357967.php
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13) NM: Lawmakers launch sweeping investigation into Epstein ranch
Source: Axios
“New Mexico lawmakers launched an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch Tuesday over allegations the late convicted sex offender trafficked and sexually abused girls and women at the nearly 10,000-acre property outside Santa Fe. It’s ‘critical’ that the first full investigation into what happened at the ranch provides a platform to ‘uncover the truth’ about what happened there and for survivors to see justice, state Rep. Andrea Romero (D) tells Axios. … A goal of the committee will be to gather information that could be used in a court of law, according to Romero. Romero noted that the statute of limitations may have passed in some instances related to the case, but said state lawmakers were already looking at changing legislation in regards to this ‘to help survivors see justice.'” (02/17/26)
https://archive.is/kKifb
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14) NC: Democrats celebrate as 73,000 voters stay on rolls for now
Source: Fox News
“North Carolina’s elections board came to an agreement with the Republican and Democratic parties on Monday to give 73,000 voters more time to update their voter registrations before they are removed from voter rolls. The settlement concludes an extended legal battle that rose after the Republican National Committee and North Carolina GOP sued state election officials in 2024, claiming that roughly 250,000 voters had been improperly registered. The voters in question did not provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or an attestation that they had neither on their registrations. Republicans had requested that the voters be removed from rolls and their votes in the 2024 elections be thrown out. The Democratic National Committee hailed the settlement as a win on Monday, accusing the GOP of voter suppression.” (02/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-celebrate-73000-north-carolina-voters-without-proper-id-stay-rolls
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15) Kosovo: On 18th anniversary of independence declaration, thousands march against war crimes trials
Source: SFGate
“An air of defiance marked Kosovo’s independence celebrations on Tuesday as thousands of people joined a march in support of former fighters who are facing trial at a Netherlands-based court for alleged war crimes during a 1998-1999 separatist war from Serbia. Protesters, many wrapped in red and black Albanian flags, braved cold and snowy weather in the capital, Pristina, to voice their opposition to the proceedings in The Hague against former president and rebel leader Hashim Thaci and three others accused of atrocities during and after the conflict that killed some 13,000 people. Earlier on Tuesday, Kosovo’s security forces paraded in Pristina as part of the independence ceremonies, and Parliament held a special session. The war started in 1998 when the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army launched its struggle for independence and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. The war ended after NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999, eventually forcing it to pull out its troops from the territory.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/thousands-in-kosovo-march-against-war-crimes-21358288.php
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16) Warner Bros. Discovery backs Netflix merger while reopening Paramount talks
Source: CNN
“Warner Bros. Discovery wants to hear Paramount’s ‘best and final proposal’ for the media company, and is opening a brief window for discussions about a bid, while also moving forward with its Netflix merger and urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s current hostile bid. … Last December, WBD agreed to sell most of the company, including the Warner Bros. movie studio and HBO, to Netflix. WBD’s cable channels, including CNN, are not part of the sale. The deal with Netflix doubled as a rejection of Paramount. But Paramount CEO David Ellison responded by going directly to shareholders with a $30-per-share offer for all of WBD, including CNN. That’s the offer WBD is officially opposing. On Tuesday morning, WBD said it will hold a special shareholder meeting on March 20 and will recommend voting to approve the Netflix deal, which values the studio and streaming assets at $27.75 per share.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/media/wbd-netflix-paramount-shareholder-vote-bid
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17) Hegseth orders removal of Army public affairs chief amid broader Pentagon purge
Source: Fox News
“Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove Col. Dave Butler from his current job serving as chief of Army public affairs and chief advisor to Driscoll, who currently is in Geneva serving on the negotiating team to end the Ukraine war, Fox News has learned. Butler served as the head of public affairs for the Joint Chiefs when Gen. Mark Milley was chairman, and was slated to receive his first star. His name appeared for two years in a row on an Army list of 34 officers selected for promotion. That list has been held up by Hegseth for nearly four months because he reportedly has concerns about four to five officers selected by the Army board, but by law he cannot remove them from the list. Butler volunteered to take his name off the promotion list if it would help unlock the other promotions, according to an Army official.” (02/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/scoop-hegseth-orders-removal-army-public-affairs-chief-amid-broader-pentagon-purge
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18) Hamas rejects Netanyahu aide’s 60-day ultimatum for group to disarm
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Hamas has rejected remarks by an Israeli government official calling for the Gaza-based group to disarm in 60 days and threatening to resume Israel’s genocidal war if it fails to comply. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told Al Jazeera Mubasher on Monday that he had no knowledge of such a demand. ‘Statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … and through the media are merely threats with no basis in the ongoing negotiations,’ Al Jazeera Arabic cited him as saying. Mardawi’s comments come after Israeli Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, during a conference in Jerusalem on Monday, threatened to renew the genocidal war on Gaza if Hamas failed to disarm in 60 days, local media outlet the Times of Israel reported.” (02/17/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/17/hamas-rejects-netanyahu-aides-60-day-ultimatum-for-group-to-disarm
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19) France: Regime releases suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker after multimillion-euro penalty
Source: SFGate
“French authorities said Tuesday they released a tanker intercepted last month in the Mediterranean Sea which is suspected of being part of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet shipping oil in violation of international sanctions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a post on X that the tanker Grinch is to leave French waters after having paid a penalty of ‘several million euros’ and ‘three weeks of costly immobilization.’ ‘Circumventing European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to finance its war with impunity through a ghost fleet off our coasts,’ Barrot said. The French military diverted the ship last month and anchored it in the port of Fos-sur-Mer as part of an investigation into a charge of failure to fly a valid flag.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/france-releases-suspected-russian-shadow-fleet-21358387.php
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20) Five who worked at Texas cattle company indicted, accused of $220 million nationwide fraud scheme
Source: Washington Times
“A Dallas-area federal jury indicted five people this week accused of defrauding customers of their cattle company of $220 million. The defendants operated through the company Agridime LLC, the Justice Department said Thursday. … Federal prosecutors allege that between January 2021 and December 2023, the five told clients, including feedlots, cattle ranchers and people wanting to buy individual cattle, that Agridime would use the money the clients paid to buy and raise specific cattle before selling the meat at a profit. … The Justice Department accused the group of instead using incoming payments from customers to pay off company operating expenses, pay money owed to previous customers, pay personal expenses and buy real property.” (02/16/26)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/14/five-worked-texas-cattle-company-indicted-accused-220-million/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Mission Accomplished? A Reality Check on Trump’s Tariffs
Source: The Daily Economy
by Caleb S Fuller & Scott Burns
“At the end of January, President Trump penned a triumphant op-ed declaring ‘Mission Accomplished’ for the signature economic policy of his second term: tariffs. Unfortunately, his entire victory lap revolved around phony numbers, cherry-picked facts, and a strawman caricature of his critics’ arguments. Trump began by claiming all the ‘so-called experts’ predicted his tariffs would trigger ‘a global economic meltdown.’ Instead, he boasts, they’ve ushered in ‘an American economic miracle.’ He’s wrong on both counts.” (02/17/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/economists-were-right-about-trumps-tariffs/
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22) The First Rosa Parks Was Claudette Colvin
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“Rosa Parks’s death on October 24, 2005, was met with tributes from across America and around the world to memorialize the impressive role she played in the Civil Rights Movement. On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded Montgomery, Alabama, bus. Instead, the 42-year-old black woman defied Jim Crow segregation laws and local customs …. Parks’s ensuing arrest for disorderly conduct rallied the city and state’s black community, which staged a one-day bus boycott by blacks on December 5. It was almost 100 percent effective, and its amazing success sparked the much larger 1955–1956 Montgomery bus boycott, which lasted over 300 days, and from which Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as the primary leader of the movement. … A woman named Claudette Colvin died on January 13, 2026, to far less acclaim than Parks received two decades earlier.” (02/17/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-first-rosa-parks-was-claudette-colvin/
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23) The Meaning of the “Rules-Based” Order and 75 Years of NATO
Source: Antiwar.com
by David S D’Amato
“The Munich Security Conference is underway, and both American and European politicians have taken the opportunity to lament the end of the old ‘rules-based’ order. The problem is that the order to which they refer never truly existed. With a quarter century of the new millennium behind us, we have an opportune time to reflect upon the international system that has defined this new period. The decades between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the present day bore witness to several important and unprecedented military interventions that give shape and structure to this new world order. Perhaps the most pivotal of these episodes was the United States-led attack on Yugoslavia in the last months of the twentieth century.” (02/17/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_damato/2026/02/16/the-meaning-of-the-rules-based-order-and-75-years-of-nato/
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24) The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
“Much of President Donald Trump’s economic policy rests on the idea that the United States doesn’t need global trade in order to prosper. A sizable portion of the rest of the world might be ready to put that sentiment to the test. Canada, Mexico, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and 11 wealthy nations across the Indo-Pacific region are taking the first steps toward a globe-spanning trade deal that would encompass nearly 40 nations and over 1.5 billion people …. Though it is a long way from a done deal, the attempt to link most of the world’s largest non-U.S., non-China economies into a single economic bloc is perhaps the most significant sign that the rest of the world is preparing for a future where America is no longer pushing for open markets and free trade. But it is not the only sign.” (02/17/26)
https://reason.com/2026/02/17/the-world-has-turned-and-left-me-here/
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25) The Political and Personal Case for Linux (Yes, I Am Talking to You)
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“You probably use a computer — in fact, you’re probably reading this column on a computer. For 72% of you, that computer is the ubiquitous ‘standard’ Windows PC or laptop. For 20% of you, it’s a Mac. The other 8% of you oddballs mostly use Linux or (Linux-based) ChromeOS. I know the 92% of you who use Windows or macOS get tired of the cool kids telling you this, but it should be the other way around. Almost everyone should be using Linux almost all the time. Instead of leading off with the technical reasons why, though, I want to hit you with the political, and personal financial, reasons for making the switch.” (02/17/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20378
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26) Chatting with Ben about his (and our) challenges
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Scott Baldauf
“It’s not every day that a reporter gets an email from Ben Franklin. In the course of reporting a story on historical reenactors from the American Revolutionary War period, I was in regular email contact with two Ben Franklins, one George Washington, and an 18th-century tavern owner from the British colony of New Hampshire. One of the Bens invited me to read his Substack column. It reads exactly like Ben Franklin would have written it if he did, in fact, live in a society that had capitalized on the newly discovered energy source of electricity, taken a magical carriage ride through the Industrial Age to the computer age, and ditched typeset printing tools for digital publishing. Why would a Monitor reporter do any of this? The answer is right there in the headlines we read (or avoid reading) every day.” (02/17/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/From-the-Editors/2026/0217/founding-fathers-wisdom
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27) Why Politicians Should Stay Inside the Overton Window (Even When the Cause Is Just)
Source: Bet On It
by “Chris Andrews”
“The politics of immigration show how positions far outside the center can undermine achievable reforms. Public opinion currently opposes the Trump administration and ICE tactics, but most voters also don’t support dramatic departures from existing immigration laws, such as open borders or blanket protections for all undocumented immigrants. During the year of our last presidential election, polling suggested voters still prefer Republicans to Democrats on immigration. Voters seemed uneasy with the Biden administration’s policies, associated with limits on deportations and reduced interior enforcement.” (02/17/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/why-politicians-should-stay-inside
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28) Don’t Follow Europe by Over-Regulating AI
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Gabriel Giguere
“It’s not news to anyone that European governments love to over-regulate. But last year, worried about emerging AI technology, European lawmakers took their regulatory habit even further. In an act of economic self-sabotage, they implemented a ‘regulate first, innovate later’ approach to AI. Instead of waiting for technological innovations to emerge and then responding with appropriate regulation, the European Commission decided it would be the first major regulatory body to pre-empt the innovation and regulate it right away, sight unseen. If it weren’t so misguided, this self-parody would be laughable. In any case, it’s an approach Canada needs to avoid.” (02/17/26)
https://fee.org/articles/dont-follow-europe-by-over-regulating-ai/
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29) The Apocalyptic President: The Personification of an Imperial Power (and Planet) in Decline
Source: TomDispatch
by Tom Engelhardt
“Once upon a time, if you had described Donald Trump’s America to me (the second time around), I would have thought you mad as Alice in Wonderland‘s proverbial hatter — or, if you were a fiction writer, I would have considered your plot so ludicrous that, after reading a few pages, I would undoubtedly have tossed your book in the trash. And yet here we are, not once (yes, all of us can make a mistake once, can’t we?) but twice! And the one thing you should take for granted is that Donald Trump in the White House a second time around is the all-too-literal personification of imperial decline. In fact, decline is hardly an adequate word for it. We just don’t happen to have another word or phrase that would describe him and his crew aptly enough in all their eerie strangeness.” (02/17/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/the-apocalyptic-president/
-----
30) Of Apes and Men
Source: Law & Liberty
by Larry Arnhart
“Humans shouldn’t take their bearings from other primates — and evolutionary biologists are often the first to tell you so.” (02/17/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/of-apes-and-men/
-----
31) Weirdos, Child-Haters, and Other Leftists [sic]
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“The Left [sic] never (never) fails, daily, to produce something perverted, abnormal, violent, irrational, decadent, barbaric, and utterly, completely stupid. Let me share with you three recent examples I ran across: 1.) This first one is Canadian, a country that is farther gone (if that is possible) into leftism than many Americans. This is incredible! … Well, for the Left [sic], no, it’s not. Headline from the National Post: ‘Ontario resident who wants both a vagina and penis wins public funding for unique surgery; A court has ruled Ontario must pay for a penis-sparing vaginoplasty for a person who identifies as neither fully female nor fully male.’ Are there any words, in the tongues of men or angels, that can describe this?” (02/17/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/02/17/weirdos-child-haters-and-other-leftists-n2671399
-----
32) The Fallacy Fallacy
Source: Persuasion
by Maarten Boudry
“Have you ever wondered why people believe the moon landing was faked, vaccines secretly poison us, and Mercury in retrograde can ruin your love life? Why does irrationality seem so pervasive? A popular answer, beloved by academics and educators alike, points to fallacies — certain types of arguments that are deeply flawed yet oddly seductive. Because people keep falling for these reasoning traps, they end up believing all sorts of crazy stuff. Still, the theory offers hope: if you memorize the classic fallacies — ad hominem, post hoc, straw man — you will inoculate yourself against them. It’s a neat little story, and I used to believe it too. Not anymore. I’ve become a fallacy apostate.” (02/17/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-i-stopped-believing-in-fallacies
-----
33) More Shockingly Honest Confessions From The Empire Managers
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“US empire managers have been making some surprisingly honest admissions in recent days, with Senator Lindsey Graham saying the wars of the future are being planned in Israel and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for a return to old-school western colonialism. During a Monday press conference in Tel Aviv after a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Graham said that ‘I’ve been coming here every two weeks whether I need to or not.’ Why is a South Carolina senator traveling to Israel every two weeks, rain or shine? The bloodthirsty warmonger answers this question in short order. ‘The wars of the future are being planned here in Israel,’ Graham said. ‘Because if you’re not one step ahead of the enemy, you suffer. The most clever, creative military forces on the planet are here in Israel.'” (02/17/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/17/more-shockingly-honest-confessions-from-the-empire-managers/
-----
34) Goodbye and Good Riddance to the Endangerment Finding
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Stockman
“Trump’s cancellation of the so-called ‘endangerment finding’ with respect to CO2 made by the Obama White House back in 2009 is so profoundly important as to make up for a legion of Trump’s spending, borrowing, easy money, and tariffing sins. Among countless others. The entire notion that fossil-fuel-based industrial civilization threatens to boil the planet alive is sheer crackpottery. Actually, as we reprise below, the geologic and climatic history of the planet so clearly refutes the Climate Crisis nonsense as to point to an even more malefic force at work than just an egregious policy mistake.” (02/17/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/goodbye-and-good-riddance-to-the-endangerment-finding/
-----
35) Kids are struggling. Banning social media won’t fix that.
Source: Washington Post
by Sam Bowman
“A lot of parents worry about their kids and the internet. Fears about social media addiction and age-inappropriate content have already led Australia to ban social media accounts for children under the age of 16. Other countries like France and Spain are following. By some measures, teenagers’ mental health does seem to have gotten worse over the past 10 years, and this does coincide with widespread adoption of smartphones. But that is where any clear correlation between the two ends. Multiple studies have either shown that smartphone and social media use among teens has minimal effects on their mental health or none at all.” (02/17/26)
https://archive.is/DPruO
-----
36) Freedom at the Extremes: Why Liberty Attracts Both the Brilliant and the Plain
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by P Ian Szwajca
“Libertarian and pro-freedom movements have always drawn disproportionate support from the extremes of the IQ bell curve. The modern Left — pointing to the intellectual shortcomings of some of liberty’s most colorful supporters on the lower end — clumsily attempts to wield this fact as an argument against the Right. Meanwhile, the enlightened Right scratches its head, puzzled by this strange and exotic coalition rallying behind the cause of freedom. Perhaps it forgets a basic historical truth: humanity has overcome staggering odds with armies of illiterate peasants. Civilizations were not built exclusively by philosophers and mathematicians. They were raised by ordinary people, armed not with theory but with intuition, grit, and an instinctive understanding of exchange and fairness.” (02/17/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/freedom-extremes-why-liberty-attracts-both-brilliant-and-plain
-----
37) Just say no to the “Talking Filibuster” — it’s a waste of time
Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt
“Time is not fungible. The time you spend reading this column cannot be ‘reclaimed’. It is gone and it won’t be back. Which is why the ‘talking filibuster’ proposal for the United States Senate is such an awful idea. I wrote the first paragraph fully aware of the jests it will bring forth — thank you for underscoring my point by posting a comment along the lines of ‘That’s five minutes I will never get back!’ You are correct. You won’t get it back. Hold that thought. It applies to the United States Senate too. Another debate has come around about the rules of the United States Senate. The debate is welcome provided it occurs in columns and in studios and doesn’t take up ‘floor time’ in the Senate.” (02/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-just-say-no-talking-filibuster-its-waste-time
-----
38) Learning the Bitter Lesson in 2026
Source: EconLog
by Joy Buchanan
“Sutton draws from decades of AI history to argue that researchers have learned a ‘bitter’ truth. Researchers repeatedly assume that computers will make the next advance in intelligence by relying on specialized human expertise. Recent history shows that methods that scale with computation outperform those reliant on human expertise. For example, in computer chess, brute-force search on specialized hardware triumphed over knowledge-based approaches. Sutton warns that researchers resist learning this lesson because building in knowledge feels satisfying, but true breakthroughs come from computation’s relentless scaling. … The Bitter Lesson is less about any single algorithm than about intellectual humility: progress in AI has come from accepting that general-purpose learning, persistently scaled, outperforms our best attempts to hard-code intelligence.” (02/17/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/learning-the-bitter-lesson-in-2026
-----
39) Further US intervention in Haiti would be worst Trump move of all
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Leah Schroeder
“Washington sent warships this month to deploy ‘gunboat diplomacy’ while the island nation continues its freefall of violence and corruption.” (02/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/haiti-us-intervention/
-----
40) Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Source: Cobden Centre
by Tim Price
“We don’t usually comment on day-to-day price developments as a) our interpretation of events may well be wrong, and b) by the time we’ve shared them with readers, the markets have moved on in any case. But the magnitude of the moves in the prices of gold and silver on 30th January warrant some further analysis. The financial media were quick to report, firstly, the apparent end to the precious metals ‘bubble’ and, secondly, to blame the new nominee for Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, for its climactic explosion. Well, as the noted law enforcer ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan once opined, opinions are like assholes — everybody’s got one.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/02/weird-scenes-inside-the-gold-mine-2/
-----
41) Creative Dissent and Mutual Aid: Lessons From Minneapolis for Surviving the Polycrisis
Source: Common Dreams
by Richard Heinberg
“In a recent article I argued that the world is now crossing a threshold from decades of growth and increasing integration to decades of economic shrinkage and political breakdown. This shift will create stresses that extend in scale from ecosystems and international relations down to households and individuals. Everyone will be personally (and likely profoundly) impacted by the polycrisis. There are three components to this tectonic shift: environmental, economic, and political. It’s useful to think of this in terms of disasters, e.g. natural disasters, economic calamities, and government repression or civil war. Every disaster is unique, but some general observations apply. When a disaster happens, our normal sense of time is interrupted and our priorities get scrambled. Suddenly, nothing matters but the immediate necessities of escaping harm and helping others to safety. People’s attitudes tend to be sober, purposeful, and helpful; hysteria is rare.” (02/17/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/mutual-aid-minnesota-crisis
-----
42) ICE Is Freezing Out the Constitution
Source: Libertarian Institute
by RT Hadley
“Mass deportations poll well, in part because many Americans believe immigrants should ‘get in line’ and follow the law. However, the core issue isn’t a nation’s right to enforce its borders. When people are willing to overlook constitutional violations to ‘solve the problem,’ they reveal a deeper disregard for the principles of liberty and individual rights that define America. If we abandon those first principles in moments of fear or frustration, we have to ask whether we still deserve to call ourselves a free society. Regardless of one’s views on immigration levels or deportation policy, constitutional rights cannot be suspended to achieve policy ends. The Constitution applies to everyone within U.S. borders—citizen and non‑citizen alike.” (02/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/ice-is-freezing-out-the-constitution/
-----
43) Free to Advise
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“People should be free to talk to each other about whatever they want as long as they’re not thereby conspiring to rob and murder and so forth. They should even be able to give advice. Including legal advice. New York State disagrees. The Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let the non-lawyer volunteers of a company called Upsolve keep giving advice to people facing lawsuits to collect debt.” (02/17/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/free2advise/
-----
44) Is Protectionism for National Security Absurd?
Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux
“Consider the case of the businesses begging for protective tariffs to compensate for other tariffs imposed on them by the same government.” (02/16/26)
https://pierrelemieux.substack.com/p/is-protectionism-for-national-security
-----
45) Biden’s “quiet amnesty” for nearly 1 million illegal [sic] immigrants
Source: New York Post
by Andrew Arthur
“President Joe Biden not only allowed 6 million to 10 million illegal [sic] aliens to walk across the border during his term, he also granted a ‘quiet amnesty’ to nearly 1 million. We’re only learning this now, as the Department of Justice revealed Biden officials improperly ‘terminated,’ ‘dismissed’ or ‘closed’ that many cases before the nation’s immigration tribunals. The tool for this deception was the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (‘EOIR’, pronounced like Winnie the Pooh’s sad donkey friend), which oversees deportation cases. Under Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Biden administration used EOIR to manipulate removal hearings, tanking pending cases in the name of ‘prosecutorial discretion.'” (02/16/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/02/16/opinion/bidens-quiet-amnesty-for-nearly-1-million-illegal-immigrants/
-----
46) The Unbearable Intellectual Lightness of the Postliberal Being
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andrew Koppelman
“Hierarchical structures within religion are largely acceptable to liberalism so long as they are based on consent rather than coercion. Hierarchy must be justified, but consent suffices to justify. Shifting our focus from theory to practice, American law has never questioned the right of the Catholic Church to confine the priesthood to males, or to impose on the priesthood difficult demands such as celibacy, or to condemn as immoral homosexual sex and contraception. Liberals often harshly denounce and stigmatize these ideas, putting painful social pressure on those who hold them, but the postliberals claim more than this: outright coercion and censorship. Liberals believe in free speech, even for ideas we don’t like.” (02/16/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-unbearable-intellectual-lightness
-----
47) The Epstein Files: The Blackmail of Billionaire Leon Black and Epstein’s Role in It
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“One of the towering questions hovering over the Epstein saga was whether the illicit sexual activities of the world’s most powerful people were used as blackmail by Epstein or by intelligence agencies with whom (or for whom) he worked. The Trump administration now insists that no such blackmail occurred. … There are still many files that remain heavily and inexplicably redacted. But, from the files that have been made public, we know one thing for certain. One of Epstein’s two key benefactors — the hedge fund billionaire Leon Black, who paid Epstein at least $158 million from 2012 through 2017 — was aggressively blackmailed over his sexual conduct. ” (02/16/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-epstein-files-the-blackmail-of
-----
48) Insider Trading and the Wolves of Capitol Hill
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“2025 was a good year for the stock market. Americans who invested in a broad market index like the Standard and Poor 500 did really well. But not as well as 29 members of the U.S. Congress who beat the market in 2025. Beating the market is not easy and beating an index like the S&P 500 in 2025 means getting gains of more than 16.8%. Unusual Whales compiled a report on the members of Congress whose investments beat that return in 2025. I compiled the chart below from the report to focus on the 29 members of Congress whose investment portfolios grew by more than 16.8% last year.” (02/16/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/16/congress-beat-stock-market-2025/
-----
49) The Quintessential Epstein Files Email
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“On June 5, 2015, Kathy Ruemmler, then a corporate lawyer for Latham & Watkins but just one year removed from her stint as White House counsel for Barack Obama, emailed her good friend Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler, who was once under consideration to become Obama’s attorney general, wrote, ‘I am working on a PR strategy for MJ White v. Elizabeth Warren.’ Epstein responded, ‘Good[.] mj is good.’ And Ruemmler followed on in a response, ‘Yes, and EW is the worst.’ This is the perfect Jeffrey Epstein email, with as much explanatory power about this man, and more important the world he associated with and cultivated, than anything to do with child sex abuse. It shows that there is in fact an Epstein class, which not only believes in their own personal impunity, but seeks to protect their fellow travelers as well.” (02/17/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/17/epstein-files-email-kathy-ruemmler-elizabeth-warren-class-war/
-----
50) Looking back on “Presidents’ Day”
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The history of ‘President’s Day’ is a convoluted one. (Isn’t everything with government?) Legally, for the FedGov, it is officially still ‘Washington’s Birthday’ and just the calendar date was changed back in 1971, from 22 February to the third Monday in February. (Many States have officially changed the name; the common title reflects the popular belief that it also replaced any celebration of Honest Abe’s birthday (12 February) honored ‘all POTUS.’ Yup, even Nixon.) But since most of us treat this like ‘All Presidents’ Day’ (and absolutely nothing to do with the idea behind All Saints’ Day), let us look back at one of the few POTUS that has some really good things to say about him. Thomas Jefferson.” (02/16/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/02/16/looking-back-on-presidents-day/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Trump Watch, 02/17/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“FDR’s Oil Siege Got Us into WWII.” (02/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxSLVQI9Si0
-----
52) The Good Fight, 02/17/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Jacob Savage on the Costs of the Great Awokening.” (02/17/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/jacob-savage
-----
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 02/17/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“It’s my weekly conversation with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos and there is no shortage of thought-provoking topics to cover. Join us as we sift fact from fiction and look for the silver linings in the ongoing chaos.” (02/17/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-yd4iq-1a4ab17
-----
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/17/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Press Sec’s Weird Cult Moment on Fox Wrecked by Fresh ICE Horror.” (02/17/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/206596/trump-press-sec-weird-cult-moment-fox-wrecked-fresh-ice-horror
-----
55) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/17/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“A Forgotten Freedom?” (02/17/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/a-forgotten-freedom/
-----
56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 427
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Sheldon Richman on Palestine before 1948 and how it impacts Israel now.” (02/17/26)
https://rumble.com/v75v9vc-ff-427-sheldon-richman-on-palestine-before-1948-and-how-it-impacts-israel-n.html
-----
57) The Corbett Report, episode 492
Source: The Corbett Report
“What’s Greenland REALLY About?” (02/17/26)
https://corbettreport.com/whats-greenland-really-about/
-----
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/17/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Sen. Graham: US Troops Could Be ‘Hit’ in Iran War, Israel To Give Hamas 60-Day Deadline, and More.” (02/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXqpaN2dp2A
-----
59) My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, 02/16/26
Source: My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
“Bill Clinton’s 1993 — Part One.” (02/16/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mcmxciii-bill-clintons-1993-part-one/id169078375?i=1000750023655
-----
60) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/16/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Trump v. Wolff — Wolff fires BACK.” (02/16/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_UPTVPN-4o
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Today's Freedom News:
1) Trump regime admits to 11 more maritime murders
2) Ukraine war: Peace talks set to continue after “very tense” six-hour summit sees no breakthrough
3) Peru: Congress removes interim President Jerí as he faces corruption allegations
4) Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion proposed settlement over thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits
5) Iran: Regime says progress made in nuclear talks with US regime after partial closure of Strait of Hormuz
6) GA: Driver fleeing violent gang members crashes, killing teacher
7) Ireland: Regime’s “data protection” racketeers tee up payoff demands for X
8) Russia: Kremlin Aide Warns West Over Piracy
9) Kelly tells BBC he will “seriously consider” White House run
10) SpaceX and xAI tapped by Pentagon for autonomous drone contest
11) Australia: Regime won’t repatriate 34 women and children from Syria
12) DC: Partial government shutdown over heimatschutz oversight seems poised to drag on
13) NM: Lawmakers launch sweeping investigation into Epstein ranch
14) NC: Democrats celebrate as 73,000 voters stay on rolls for now
15) Kosovo: On 18th anniversary of independence declaration, thousands march against war crimes trials
16) Warner Bros. Discovery backs Netflix merger while reopening Paramount talks
17) Hegseth orders removal of Army public affairs chief amid broader Pentagon purge
18) Hamas rejects Netanyahu aide’s 60-day ultimatum for group to disarm
19) France: Regime releases suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker after multimillion-euro penalty
20) Five who worked at Texas cattle company indicted, accused of $220 million nationwide fraud scheme
Today's Freedom Commentary:
21) Mission Accomplished? A Reality Check on Trump’s Tariffs
22) The First Rosa Parks Was Claudette Colvin
23) The Meaning of the “Rules-Based” Order and 75 Years of NATO
24) The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
25) The Political and Personal Case for Linux (Yes, I Am Talking to You)
26) Chatting with Ben about his (and our) challenges
27) Why Politicians Should Stay Inside the Overton Window (Even When the Cause Is Just)
28) Don’t Follow Europe by Over-Regulating AI
29) The Apocalyptic President: The Personification of an Imperial Power (and Planet) in Decline
30) Of Apes and Men
31) Weirdos, Child-Haters, and Other Leftists [sic]
32) The Fallacy Fallacy
33) More Shockingly Honest Confessions From The Empire Managers
34) Goodbye and Good Riddance to the Endangerment Finding
35) Kids are struggling. Banning social media won’t fix that.
36) Freedom at the Extremes: Why Liberty Attracts Both the Brilliant and the Plain
37) Just say no to the “Talking Filibuster” — it’s a waste of time
38) Learning the Bitter Lesson in 2026
39) Further US intervention in Haiti would be worst Trump move of all
40) Weird scenes inside the gold mine
41) Creative Dissent and Mutual Aid: Lessons From Minneapolis for Surviving the Polycrisis
42) ICE Is Freezing Out the Constitution
43) Free to Advise
44) Is Protectionism for National Security Absurd?
45) Biden’s “quiet amnesty” for nearly 1 million illegal [sic] immigrants
46) The Unbearable Intellectual Lightness of the Postliberal Being
47) The Epstein Files: The Blackmail of Billionaire Leon Black and Epstein’s Role in It
48) Insider Trading and the Wolves of Capitol Hill
49) The Quintessential Epstein Files Email
50) Looking back on “Presidents’ Day”
Today's Freedom Podcast and Video:
51) Trump Watch, 02/17/26
52) The Good Fight, 02/17/26
53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 02/17/26
54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/17/26
55) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/17/26
56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 427
57) The Corbett Report, episode 492
58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/17/26
59) My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, 02/16/26
60) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/16/26
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_____ Today's Freedom News _____
1) Trump regime admits to 11 more maritime murders
Source: NBC News
“U.S. Southern Command announced that the military launched strikes on three alleged drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean on Monday, [murdering] 11 people. … U.S. Southern Command alleged the three boats were ‘operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.’ The post referred to those [murdered] as ‘male narco-terrorists,’ saying that eight people were killed on two boats in the eastern Pacific and three were [murdered] on a boat in the Caribbean. No U.S. troops were harmed, the post said. The post also said the strikes were conducted at the direction of Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan, who serves as the commander of U.S. Southern Command.” (02/17/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-military-strikes-three-alleged-drug-boats-pacific-caribbean-rcna259364
-----
2) Ukraine war: Peace talks set to continue after “very tense” six-hour summit sees no breakthrough
Source: Independent [UK]
“Peace talks between Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators are set to resume in Geneva today after a ‘very tense’ session on Tuesday. Six hours of talks took place on Tuesday in a mixture of two-way and three-way formats but yielded no breakthrough,a source told Russian news agencies. ‘They agreed to continue’ on Wednesday, the source said. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the talks ‘brought about meaningful progress’ in Donald Trump’s push to end the Ukraine war. Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky said the US president was exerting undue pressure on the Ukrainian side during the peace process.” (02/18/26)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-trump-zelensky-putin-peace-talks-b2922462.html
-----
3) Peru: Congress removes interim President Jerí as he faces corruption allegations
Source: Toronto Star [Canada]
“Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office as he faces corruption allegations, triggering a fresh wave of political instability just weeks before the nation’s April presidential election. Jerí is under a preliminary investigation into corruption and influence peddling, stemming from a series of undisclosed meetings with two Chinese executives. With 75 votes in favor, 24 against and 3 abstentions, Peru’s legislature voted to remove Jerí from the position he had assumed on Oct. 10. His predecessor, Dina Boluarte, was dismissed as a crime wave gripped the country. Jerí’s removal from office is the latest chapter in a prolonged political crisis in a country that has seen seven presidents since 2016, and is about to hold a general election amid widespread public outcry over the surge in violent crime.” (02/17/26)
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/americas/perus-congress-removes-interim-president-jer-as-he-faces-corruption-allegations/article_857e3b13-0631-529d-a10f-586abb3835e9.html
-----
4) Bayer agrees to $7.25 billion proposed settlement over thousands of Roundup cancer lawsuits
Source: Associated Press
“Agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement Tuesday to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer. The proposed settlement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments in April on Bayer’s assertion that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Roundup without a cancer warning should invalidate claims filed in state courts. That case would not be affected by the proposed settlement. But the settlement would eliminate some of the risk from an eventual Supreme Court ruling. Patients would be assured of receiving settlement money even if the Supreme Court rules in Bayer’s favor. And Bayer would be protected from potentially larger costs if the high court rules against it.” (02/17/26)
https://apnews.com/article/bayer-monsanto-roundup-lawsuits-settlement-154ad7c6bdff3a91b06c4e327321160b
-----
5) Iran: Regime says progress made in nuclear talks with US regime after partial closure of Strait of Hormuz
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“Iran and the United States reached an understanding on the main ‘guiding principles’ in a second round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday, but work still needs to be done, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. … After the exchange of documents, the two sides will decide on a date for a third round of negotiations, he said. The U.S. has sent a battle force to the Middle East to press Tehran to make concessions in the decades-long nuclear dispute and President Donald Trump has said ‘regime change’ in Tehran may be the best thing that can happen. Iranian state media reported earlier that Iran would temporarily shut part of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil supply route, as it held talks over its nuclear program with the United States, which has sent a battle force to the Gulf region to press Tehran to make concessions.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-strait-of-hormuz-nucleur-talks-united-states-9.7093310
-----
6) GA: Driver fleeing violent gang members crashes, killing teacher
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“A Guatemalan driver fleeing a Georgia traffic stop by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said. Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing the Monday crash just outside of Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving without a valid license. Lopez, 38, is in the U.S. illegally [sic], according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration officers were looking for Lopez to enforce an immigration judge’s 2024 deportation order, ICE spokesperson Lindsay Williams said Tuesday, noting that Lopez has no other [sic] criminal history.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/17/immigration-enforcement-fatal-crash/
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7) Ireland: Regime’s “data protection” racketeers tee up payoff demands for X
Source: The Hill
“Elon Musk’s social media platform X faces a European Union privacy investigation after its Grok AI chatbot started spitting out nonconsensual deepfake images, Ireland’s data privacy regulator said Tuesday. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said it notified X on Monday that it was opening the inquiry under the 27-nation EU’s strict data privacy regulations, adding to the scrutiny X is facing in Europe and other parts of the world over Grok’s behavior. … The watchdog said the investigation will seek to determine whether X complied with the EU data privacy rules known as GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation. Under the rules, the Irish regulator takes the lead on enforcing the bloc’s privacy rules because X’s European headquarters is in Dublin. Violations can result in hefty fines.” (02/17/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-international/ap-grok-faces-more-scrutiny-over-deepfakes-as-irish-regulator-opens-eu-privacy-investigation-2/
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8) Russia: Kremlin Aide Warns West Over Piracy
Source: US News & World Report
“Russia could deploy its navy to prevent European powers from seizing its vessels and may retaliate against European shipping if Russian ships are taken, Nikolai Patrushev, one of Russia’s leading hardliners, was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Western states have sought to cripple Russia’s economy with sanctions and in recent months have tried to block oil tankers suspected of involvement in Russian oil shipments. In January, [US-based pirates] seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker as part of efforts to curb Venezuelan oil exports. Patrushev, a Kremlin aide who is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia needed to give a tough response — particularly towards Britain, France and Baltic states.” (02/17/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-02-17/putin-ally-warns-european-powers-over-seizure-of-russian-vessels
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9) Kelly tells BBC he will “seriously consider” White House run
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“US Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has said he will ‘seriously consider’ running for president in 2028 as he battles the Trump administration over a video in which he urged military personnel to refuse illegal orders. The Arizona senator, who was accused of ‘seditious behaviour’ by Donald Trump over the November clip, said he and his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, received ‘many’ death threats after the president’s comments. ‘We get them on a weekly basis now,’ he told BBC Newsnight. ‘We had to get security to protect us 24 hours a day.’ Asked if he was considering a White House run, the retired Navy captain said he was considering it ‘because we’re in some seriously challenging times.’ The 61-year-old, who is a former astronaut, noted he was very different from most senators.” (02/17/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9gdvl4zv4o
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10) SpaceX and xAI tapped by Pentagon for autonomous drone contest
Source: Teslarati
“SpaceX and its AI subsidiary xAI are reportedly competing in a new Pentagon prize challenge focused on autonomous drone swarming technology, as per a report from Bloomberg News. The six-month competition was launched in January and is said to carry a $100 million award. Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and xAI are among a select group invited to participate in the Defense Department’s effort to develop advanced drone swarming capabilities. The goal is reportedly to create systems that can translate voice commands into digital instructions and manage fleets of autonomous drones.” (02/17/26)
https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-xai-tapped-pentagon-autonomous-drone-contest/
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11) Australia: Regime won’t repatriate 34 women and children from Syria
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“The Australian government will not repatriate from Syria a group of 34 women and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State group, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday. The women and children from 11 families were supposed to fly from the Syrian capital Damascus to Australia but Syrian authorities on Monday turned them back to Roj camp in northeast Syria because of procedural problems, officials said. Only two groups of Australians have been repatriated with government help from Syrian camps since the fall of the Islamic State group in 2019. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance. Albanese would not comment on a report that the latest women and children had Australian passports.” (02/17/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5716762/australia-wont-repatriate-34-women-and-children-from-syria
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12) DC: Partial government shutdown over heimatschutz oversight seems poised to drag on
Source: SFGate
“Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise over the holiday weekend in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump ’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Unlike the record 43-day shutdown last fall, the closures are narrowly confined, affecting only agencies under the DHS umbrella, including the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/the-latest-partial-government-shutdown-over-dhs-21357967.php
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13) NM: Lawmakers launch sweeping investigation into Epstein ranch
Source: Axios
“New Mexico lawmakers launched an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch Tuesday over allegations the late convicted sex offender trafficked and sexually abused girls and women at the nearly 10,000-acre property outside Santa Fe. It’s ‘critical’ that the first full investigation into what happened at the ranch provides a platform to ‘uncover the truth’ about what happened there and for survivors to see justice, state Rep. Andrea Romero (D) tells Axios. … A goal of the committee will be to gather information that could be used in a court of law, according to Romero. Romero noted that the statute of limitations may have passed in some instances related to the case, but said state lawmakers were already looking at changing legislation in regards to this ‘to help survivors see justice.'” (02/17/26)
https://archive.is/kKifb
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14) NC: Democrats celebrate as 73,000 voters stay on rolls for now
Source: Fox News
“North Carolina’s elections board came to an agreement with the Republican and Democratic parties on Monday to give 73,000 voters more time to update their voter registrations before they are removed from voter rolls. The settlement concludes an extended legal battle that rose after the Republican National Committee and North Carolina GOP sued state election officials in 2024, claiming that roughly 250,000 voters had been improperly registered. The voters in question did not provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or an attestation that they had neither on their registrations. Republicans had requested that the voters be removed from rolls and their votes in the 2024 elections be thrown out. The Democratic National Committee hailed the settlement as a win on Monday, accusing the GOP of voter suppression.” (02/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-celebrate-73000-north-carolina-voters-without-proper-id-stay-rolls
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15) Kosovo: On 18th anniversary of independence declaration, thousands march against war crimes trials
Source: SFGate
“An air of defiance marked Kosovo’s independence celebrations on Tuesday as thousands of people joined a march in support of former fighters who are facing trial at a Netherlands-based court for alleged war crimes during a 1998-1999 separatist war from Serbia. Protesters, many wrapped in red and black Albanian flags, braved cold and snowy weather in the capital, Pristina, to voice their opposition to the proceedings in The Hague against former president and rebel leader Hashim Thaci and three others accused of atrocities during and after the conflict that killed some 13,000 people. Earlier on Tuesday, Kosovo’s security forces paraded in Pristina as part of the independence ceremonies, and Parliament held a special session. The war started in 1998 when the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army launched its struggle for independence and Serbia responded with a brutal crackdown. The war ended after NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999, eventually forcing it to pull out its troops from the territory.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/thousands-in-kosovo-march-against-war-crimes-21358288.php
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16) Warner Bros. Discovery backs Netflix merger while reopening Paramount talks
Source: CNN
“Warner Bros. Discovery wants to hear Paramount’s ‘best and final proposal’ for the media company, and is opening a brief window for discussions about a bid, while also moving forward with its Netflix merger and urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s current hostile bid. … Last December, WBD agreed to sell most of the company, including the Warner Bros. movie studio and HBO, to Netflix. WBD’s cable channels, including CNN, are not part of the sale. The deal with Netflix doubled as a rejection of Paramount. But Paramount CEO David Ellison responded by going directly to shareholders with a $30-per-share offer for all of WBD, including CNN. That’s the offer WBD is officially opposing. On Tuesday morning, WBD said it will hold a special shareholder meeting on March 20 and will recommend voting to approve the Netflix deal, which values the studio and streaming assets at $27.75 per share.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/media/wbd-netflix-paramount-shareholder-vote-bid
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17) Hegseth orders removal of Army public affairs chief amid broader Pentagon purge
Source: Fox News
“Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has ordered Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove Col. Dave Butler from his current job serving as chief of Army public affairs and chief advisor to Driscoll, who currently is in Geneva serving on the negotiating team to end the Ukraine war, Fox News has learned. Butler served as the head of public affairs for the Joint Chiefs when Gen. Mark Milley was chairman, and was slated to receive his first star. His name appeared for two years in a row on an Army list of 34 officers selected for promotion. That list has been held up by Hegseth for nearly four months because he reportedly has concerns about four to five officers selected by the Army board, but by law he cannot remove them from the list. Butler volunteered to take his name off the promotion list if it would help unlock the other promotions, according to an Army official.” (02/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/scoop-hegseth-orders-removal-army-public-affairs-chief-amid-broader-pentagon-purge
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18) Hamas rejects Netanyahu aide’s 60-day ultimatum for group to disarm
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Hamas has rejected remarks by an Israeli government official calling for the Gaza-based group to disarm in 60 days and threatening to resume Israel’s genocidal war if it fails to comply. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told Al Jazeera Mubasher on Monday that he had no knowledge of such a demand. ‘Statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … and through the media are merely threats with no basis in the ongoing negotiations,’ Al Jazeera Arabic cited him as saying. Mardawi’s comments come after Israeli Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, during a conference in Jerusalem on Monday, threatened to renew the genocidal war on Gaza if Hamas failed to disarm in 60 days, local media outlet the Times of Israel reported.” (02/17/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/17/hamas-rejects-netanyahu-aides-60-day-ultimatum-for-group-to-disarm
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19) France: Regime releases suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker after multimillion-euro penalty
Source: SFGate
“French authorities said Tuesday they released a tanker intercepted last month in the Mediterranean Sea which is suspected of being part of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet shipping oil in violation of international sanctions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a post on X that the tanker Grinch is to leave French waters after having paid a penalty of ‘several million euros’ and ‘three weeks of costly immobilization.’ ‘Circumventing European sanctions comes at a price. Russia will no longer be able to finance its war with impunity through a ghost fleet off our coasts,’ Barrot said. The French military diverted the ship last month and anchored it in the port of Fos-sur-Mer as part of an investigation into a charge of failure to fly a valid flag.” (02/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/france-releases-suspected-russian-shadow-fleet-21358387.php
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20) Five who worked at Texas cattle company indicted, accused of $220 million nationwide fraud scheme
Source: Washington Times
“A Dallas-area federal jury indicted five people this week accused of defrauding customers of their cattle company of $220 million. The defendants operated through the company Agridime LLC, the Justice Department said Thursday. … Federal prosecutors allege that between January 2021 and December 2023, the five told clients, including feedlots, cattle ranchers and people wanting to buy individual cattle, that Agridime would use the money the clients paid to buy and raise specific cattle before selling the meat at a profit. … The Justice Department accused the group of instead using incoming payments from customers to pay off company operating expenses, pay money owed to previous customers, pay personal expenses and buy real property.” (02/16/26)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/14/five-worked-texas-cattle-company-indicted-accused-220-million/
_____ Today's Freedom Commentary _____
21) Mission Accomplished? A Reality Check on Trump’s Tariffs
Source: The Daily Economy
by Caleb S Fuller & Scott Burns
“At the end of January, President Trump penned a triumphant op-ed declaring ‘Mission Accomplished’ for the signature economic policy of his second term: tariffs. Unfortunately, his entire victory lap revolved around phony numbers, cherry-picked facts, and a strawman caricature of his critics’ arguments. Trump began by claiming all the ‘so-called experts’ predicted his tariffs would trigger ‘a global economic meltdown.’ Instead, he boasts, they’ve ushered in ‘an American economic miracle.’ He’s wrong on both counts.” (02/17/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/economists-were-right-about-trumps-tariffs/
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22) The First Rosa Parks Was Claudette Colvin
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Wendy McElroy
“Rosa Parks’s death on October 24, 2005, was met with tributes from across America and around the world to memorialize the impressive role she played in the Civil Rights Movement. On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded Montgomery, Alabama, bus. Instead, the 42-year-old black woman defied Jim Crow segregation laws and local customs …. Parks’s ensuing arrest for disorderly conduct rallied the city and state’s black community, which staged a one-day bus boycott by blacks on December 5. It was almost 100 percent effective, and its amazing success sparked the much larger 1955–1956 Montgomery bus boycott, which lasted over 300 days, and from which Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as the primary leader of the movement. … A woman named Claudette Colvin died on January 13, 2026, to far less acclaim than Parks received two decades earlier.” (02/17/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-first-rosa-parks-was-claudette-colvin/
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23) The Meaning of the “Rules-Based” Order and 75 Years of NATO
Source: Antiwar.com
by David S D’Amato
“The Munich Security Conference is underway, and both American and European politicians have taken the opportunity to lament the end of the old ‘rules-based’ order. The problem is that the order to which they refer never truly existed. With a quarter century of the new millennium behind us, we have an opportune time to reflect upon the international system that has defined this new period. The decades between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the present day bore witness to several important and unprecedented military interventions that give shape and structure to this new world order. Perhaps the most pivotal of these episodes was the United States-led attack on Yugoslavia in the last months of the twentieth century.” (02/17/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/david_damato/2026/02/16/the-meaning-of-the-rules-based-order-and-75-years-of-nato/
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24) The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
Source: Reason
by Eric Boehm
“Much of President Donald Trump’s economic policy rests on the idea that the United States doesn’t need global trade in order to prosper. A sizable portion of the rest of the world might be ready to put that sentiment to the test. Canada, Mexico, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and 11 wealthy nations across the Indo-Pacific region are taking the first steps toward a globe-spanning trade deal that would encompass nearly 40 nations and over 1.5 billion people …. Though it is a long way from a done deal, the attempt to link most of the world’s largest non-U.S., non-China economies into a single economic bloc is perhaps the most significant sign that the rest of the world is preparing for a future where America is no longer pushing for open markets and free trade. But it is not the only sign.” (02/17/26)
https://reason.com/2026/02/17/the-world-has-turned-and-left-me-here/
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25) The Political and Personal Case for Linux (Yes, I Am Talking to You)
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“You probably use a computer — in fact, you’re probably reading this column on a computer. For 72% of you, that computer is the ubiquitous ‘standard’ Windows PC or laptop. For 20% of you, it’s a Mac. The other 8% of you oddballs mostly use Linux or (Linux-based) ChromeOS. I know the 92% of you who use Windows or macOS get tired of the cool kids telling you this, but it should be the other way around. Almost everyone should be using Linux almost all the time. Instead of leading off with the technical reasons why, though, I want to hit you with the political, and personal financial, reasons for making the switch.” (02/17/26)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/20378
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26) Chatting with Ben about his (and our) challenges
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by Scott Baldauf
“It’s not every day that a reporter gets an email from Ben Franklin. In the course of reporting a story on historical reenactors from the American Revolutionary War period, I was in regular email contact with two Ben Franklins, one George Washington, and an 18th-century tavern owner from the British colony of New Hampshire. One of the Bens invited me to read his Substack column. It reads exactly like Ben Franklin would have written it if he did, in fact, live in a society that had capitalized on the newly discovered energy source of electricity, taken a magical carriage ride through the Industrial Age to the computer age, and ditched typeset printing tools for digital publishing. Why would a Monitor reporter do any of this? The answer is right there in the headlines we read (or avoid reading) every day.” (02/17/26)
https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/From-the-Editors/2026/0217/founding-fathers-wisdom
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27) Why Politicians Should Stay Inside the Overton Window (Even When the Cause Is Just)
Source: Bet On It
by “Chris Andrews”
“The politics of immigration show how positions far outside the center can undermine achievable reforms. Public opinion currently opposes the Trump administration and ICE tactics, but most voters also don’t support dramatic departures from existing immigration laws, such as open borders or blanket protections for all undocumented immigrants. During the year of our last presidential election, polling suggested voters still prefer Republicans to Democrats on immigration. Voters seemed uneasy with the Biden administration’s policies, associated with limits on deportations and reduced interior enforcement.” (02/17/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/why-politicians-should-stay-inside
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28) Don’t Follow Europe by Over-Regulating AI
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Gabriel Giguere
“It’s not news to anyone that European governments love to over-regulate. But last year, worried about emerging AI technology, European lawmakers took their regulatory habit even further. In an act of economic self-sabotage, they implemented a ‘regulate first, innovate later’ approach to AI. Instead of waiting for technological innovations to emerge and then responding with appropriate regulation, the European Commission decided it would be the first major regulatory body to pre-empt the innovation and regulate it right away, sight unseen. If it weren’t so misguided, this self-parody would be laughable. In any case, it’s an approach Canada needs to avoid.” (02/17/26)
https://fee.org/articles/dont-follow-europe-by-over-regulating-ai/
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29) The Apocalyptic President: The Personification of an Imperial Power (and Planet) in Decline
Source: TomDispatch
by Tom Engelhardt
“Once upon a time, if you had described Donald Trump’s America to me (the second time around), I would have thought you mad as Alice in Wonderland‘s proverbial hatter — or, if you were a fiction writer, I would have considered your plot so ludicrous that, after reading a few pages, I would undoubtedly have tossed your book in the trash. And yet here we are, not once (yes, all of us can make a mistake once, can’t we?) but twice! And the one thing you should take for granted is that Donald Trump in the White House a second time around is the all-too-literal personification of imperial decline. In fact, decline is hardly an adequate word for it. We just don’t happen to have another word or phrase that would describe him and his crew aptly enough in all their eerie strangeness.” (02/17/26)
https://tomdispatch.com/the-apocalyptic-president/
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30) Of Apes and Men
Source: Law & Liberty
by Larry Arnhart
“Humans shouldn’t take their bearings from other primates — and evolutionary biologists are often the first to tell you so.” (02/17/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/of-apes-and-men/
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31) Weirdos, Child-Haters, and Other Leftists [sic]
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis
“The Left [sic] never (never) fails, daily, to produce something perverted, abnormal, violent, irrational, decadent, barbaric, and utterly, completely stupid. Let me share with you three recent examples I ran across: 1.) This first one is Canadian, a country that is farther gone (if that is possible) into leftism than many Americans. This is incredible! … Well, for the Left [sic], no, it’s not. Headline from the National Post: ‘Ontario resident who wants both a vagina and penis wins public funding for unique surgery; A court has ruled Ontario must pay for a penis-sparing vaginoplasty for a person who identifies as neither fully female nor fully male.’ Are there any words, in the tongues of men or angels, that can describe this?” (02/17/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/02/17/weirdos-child-haters-and-other-leftists-n2671399
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32) The Fallacy Fallacy
Source: Persuasion
by Maarten Boudry
“Have you ever wondered why people believe the moon landing was faked, vaccines secretly poison us, and Mercury in retrograde can ruin your love life? Why does irrationality seem so pervasive? A popular answer, beloved by academics and educators alike, points to fallacies — certain types of arguments that are deeply flawed yet oddly seductive. Because people keep falling for these reasoning traps, they end up believing all sorts of crazy stuff. Still, the theory offers hope: if you memorize the classic fallacies — ad hominem, post hoc, straw man — you will inoculate yourself against them. It’s a neat little story, and I used to believe it too. Not anymore. I’ve become a fallacy apostate.” (02/17/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-i-stopped-believing-in-fallacies
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33) More Shockingly Honest Confessions From The Empire Managers
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“US empire managers have been making some surprisingly honest admissions in recent days, with Senator Lindsey Graham saying the wars of the future are being planned in Israel and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for a return to old-school western colonialism. During a Monday press conference in Tel Aviv after a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Graham said that ‘I’ve been coming here every two weeks whether I need to or not.’ Why is a South Carolina senator traveling to Israel every two weeks, rain or shine? The bloodthirsty warmonger answers this question in short order. ‘The wars of the future are being planned here in Israel,’ Graham said. ‘Because if you’re not one step ahead of the enemy, you suffer. The most clever, creative military forces on the planet are here in Israel.'” (02/17/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/17/more-shockingly-honest-confessions-from-the-empire-managers/
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34) Goodbye and Good Riddance to the Endangerment Finding
Source: Brownstone Institute
by David Stockman
“Trump’s cancellation of the so-called ‘endangerment finding’ with respect to CO2 made by the Obama White House back in 2009 is so profoundly important as to make up for a legion of Trump’s spending, borrowing, easy money, and tariffing sins. Among countless others. The entire notion that fossil-fuel-based industrial civilization threatens to boil the planet alive is sheer crackpottery. Actually, as we reprise below, the geologic and climatic history of the planet so clearly refutes the Climate Crisis nonsense as to point to an even more malefic force at work than just an egregious policy mistake.” (02/17/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/goodbye-and-good-riddance-to-the-endangerment-finding/
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35) Kids are struggling. Banning social media won’t fix that.
Source: Washington Post
by Sam Bowman
“A lot of parents worry about their kids and the internet. Fears about social media addiction and age-inappropriate content have already led Australia to ban social media accounts for children under the age of 16. Other countries like France and Spain are following. By some measures, teenagers’ mental health does seem to have gotten worse over the past 10 years, and this does coincide with widespread adoption of smartphones. But that is where any clear correlation between the two ends. Multiple studies have either shown that smartphone and social media use among teens has minimal effects on their mental health or none at all.” (02/17/26)
https://archive.is/DPruO
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36) Freedom at the Extremes: Why Liberty Attracts Both the Brilliant and the Plain
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by P Ian Szwajca
“Libertarian and pro-freedom movements have always drawn disproportionate support from the extremes of the IQ bell curve. The modern Left — pointing to the intellectual shortcomings of some of liberty’s most colorful supporters on the lower end — clumsily attempts to wield this fact as an argument against the Right. Meanwhile, the enlightened Right scratches its head, puzzled by this strange and exotic coalition rallying behind the cause of freedom. Perhaps it forgets a basic historical truth: humanity has overcome staggering odds with armies of illiterate peasants. Civilizations were not built exclusively by philosophers and mathematicians. They were raised by ordinary people, armed not with theory but with intuition, grit, and an instinctive understanding of exchange and fairness.” (02/17/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/freedom-extremes-why-liberty-attracts-both-brilliant-and-plain
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37) Just say no to the “Talking Filibuster” — it’s a waste of time
Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt
“Time is not fungible. The time you spend reading this column cannot be ‘reclaimed’. It is gone and it won’t be back. Which is why the ‘talking filibuster’ proposal for the United States Senate is such an awful idea. I wrote the first paragraph fully aware of the jests it will bring forth — thank you for underscoring my point by posting a comment along the lines of ‘That’s five minutes I will never get back!’ You are correct. You won’t get it back. Hold that thought. It applies to the United States Senate too. Another debate has come around about the rules of the United States Senate. The debate is welcome provided it occurs in columns and in studios and doesn’t take up ‘floor time’ in the Senate.” (02/17/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-just-say-no-talking-filibuster-its-waste-time
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38) Learning the Bitter Lesson in 2026
Source: EconLog
by Joy Buchanan
“Sutton draws from decades of AI history to argue that researchers have learned a ‘bitter’ truth. Researchers repeatedly assume that computers will make the next advance in intelligence by relying on specialized human expertise. Recent history shows that methods that scale with computation outperform those reliant on human expertise. For example, in computer chess, brute-force search on specialized hardware triumphed over knowledge-based approaches. Sutton warns that researchers resist learning this lesson because building in knowledge feels satisfying, but true breakthroughs come from computation’s relentless scaling. … The Bitter Lesson is less about any single algorithm than about intellectual humility: progress in AI has come from accepting that general-purpose learning, persistently scaled, outperforms our best attempts to hard-code intelligence.” (02/17/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/learning-the-bitter-lesson-in-2026
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39) Further US intervention in Haiti would be worst Trump move of all
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Leah Schroeder
“Washington sent warships this month to deploy ‘gunboat diplomacy’ while the island nation continues its freefall of violence and corruption.” (02/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/haiti-us-intervention/
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40) Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Source: Cobden Centre
by Tim Price
“We don’t usually comment on day-to-day price developments as a) our interpretation of events may well be wrong, and b) by the time we’ve shared them with readers, the markets have moved on in any case. But the magnitude of the moves in the prices of gold and silver on 30th January warrant some further analysis. The financial media were quick to report, firstly, the apparent end to the precious metals ‘bubble’ and, secondly, to blame the new nominee for Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, for its climactic explosion. Well, as the noted law enforcer ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan once opined, opinions are like assholes — everybody’s got one.” (02/17/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/02/weird-scenes-inside-the-gold-mine-2/
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41) Creative Dissent and Mutual Aid: Lessons From Minneapolis for Surviving the Polycrisis
Source: Common Dreams
by Richard Heinberg
“In a recent article I argued that the world is now crossing a threshold from decades of growth and increasing integration to decades of economic shrinkage and political breakdown. This shift will create stresses that extend in scale from ecosystems and international relations down to households and individuals. Everyone will be personally (and likely profoundly) impacted by the polycrisis. There are three components to this tectonic shift: environmental, economic, and political. It’s useful to think of this in terms of disasters, e.g. natural disasters, economic calamities, and government repression or civil war. Every disaster is unique, but some general observations apply. When a disaster happens, our normal sense of time is interrupted and our priorities get scrambled. Suddenly, nothing matters but the immediate necessities of escaping harm and helping others to safety. People’s attitudes tend to be sober, purposeful, and helpful; hysteria is rare.” (02/17/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/mutual-aid-minnesota-crisis
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42) ICE Is Freezing Out the Constitution
Source: Libertarian Institute
by RT Hadley
“Mass deportations poll well, in part because many Americans believe immigrants should ‘get in line’ and follow the law. However, the core issue isn’t a nation’s right to enforce its borders. When people are willing to overlook constitutional violations to ‘solve the problem,’ they reveal a deeper disregard for the principles of liberty and individual rights that define America. If we abandon those first principles in moments of fear or frustration, we have to ask whether we still deserve to call ourselves a free society. Regardless of one’s views on immigration levels or deportation policy, constitutional rights cannot be suspended to achieve policy ends. The Constitution applies to everyone within U.S. borders—citizen and non‑citizen alike.” (02/17/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/ice-is-freezing-out-the-constitution/
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43) Free to Advise
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“People should be free to talk to each other about whatever they want as long as they’re not thereby conspiring to rob and murder and so forth. They should even be able to give advice. Including legal advice. New York State disagrees. The Institute for Justice is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to let the non-lawyer volunteers of a company called Upsolve keep giving advice to people facing lawsuits to collect debt.” (02/17/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/free2advise/
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44) Is Protectionism for National Security Absurd?
Source: Pierre Lemieux
by Pierre Lemieux
“Consider the case of the businesses begging for protective tariffs to compensate for other tariffs imposed on them by the same government.” (02/16/26)
https://pierrelemieux.substack.com/p/is-protectionism-for-national-security
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45) Biden’s “quiet amnesty” for nearly 1 million illegal [sic] immigrants
Source: New York Post
by Andrew Arthur
“President Joe Biden not only allowed 6 million to 10 million illegal [sic] aliens to walk across the border during his term, he also granted a ‘quiet amnesty’ to nearly 1 million. We’re only learning this now, as the Department of Justice revealed Biden officials improperly ‘terminated,’ ‘dismissed’ or ‘closed’ that many cases before the nation’s immigration tribunals. The tool for this deception was the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (‘EOIR’, pronounced like Winnie the Pooh’s sad donkey friend), which oversees deportation cases. Under Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Biden administration used EOIR to manipulate removal hearings, tanking pending cases in the name of ‘prosecutorial discretion.'” (02/16/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/02/16/opinion/bidens-quiet-amnesty-for-nearly-1-million-illegal-immigrants/
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46) The Unbearable Intellectual Lightness of the Postliberal Being
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andrew Koppelman
“Hierarchical structures within religion are largely acceptable to liberalism so long as they are based on consent rather than coercion. Hierarchy must be justified, but consent suffices to justify. Shifting our focus from theory to practice, American law has never questioned the right of the Catholic Church to confine the priesthood to males, or to impose on the priesthood difficult demands such as celibacy, or to condemn as immoral homosexual sex and contraception. Liberals often harshly denounce and stigmatize these ideas, putting painful social pressure on those who hold them, but the postliberals claim more than this: outright coercion and censorship. Liberals believe in free speech, even for ideas we don’t like.” (02/16/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-unbearable-intellectual-lightness
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47) The Epstein Files: The Blackmail of Billionaire Leon Black and Epstein’s Role in It
Source: Glenn Greenwald
by Glenn Greenwald
“One of the towering questions hovering over the Epstein saga was whether the illicit sexual activities of the world’s most powerful people were used as blackmail by Epstein or by intelligence agencies with whom (or for whom) he worked. The Trump administration now insists that no such blackmail occurred. … There are still many files that remain heavily and inexplicably redacted. But, from the files that have been made public, we know one thing for certain. One of Epstein’s two key benefactors — the hedge fund billionaire Leon Black, who paid Epstein at least $158 million from 2012 through 2017 — was aggressively blackmailed over his sexual conduct. ” (02/16/26)
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-epstein-files-the-blackmail-of
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48) Insider Trading and the Wolves of Capitol Hill
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann
“2025 was a good year for the stock market. Americans who invested in a broad market index like the Standard and Poor 500 did really well. But not as well as 29 members of the U.S. Congress who beat the market in 2025. Beating the market is not easy and beating an index like the S&P 500 in 2025 means getting gains of more than 16.8%. Unusual Whales compiled a report on the members of Congress whose investments beat that return in 2025. I compiled the chart below from the report to focus on the 29 members of Congress whose investment portfolios grew by more than 16.8% last year.” (02/16/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/02/16/congress-beat-stock-market-2025/
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49) The Quintessential Epstein Files Email
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“On June 5, 2015, Kathy Ruemmler, then a corporate lawyer for Latham & Watkins but just one year removed from her stint as White House counsel for Barack Obama, emailed her good friend Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler, who was once under consideration to become Obama’s attorney general, wrote, ‘I am working on a PR strategy for MJ White v. Elizabeth Warren.’ Epstein responded, ‘Good[.] mj is good.’ And Ruemmler followed on in a response, ‘Yes, and EW is the worst.’ This is the perfect Jeffrey Epstein email, with as much explanatory power about this man, and more important the world he associated with and cultivated, than anything to do with child sex abuse. It shows that there is in fact an Epstein class, which not only believes in their own personal impunity, but seeks to protect their fellow travelers as well.” (02/17/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/02/17/epstein-files-email-kathy-ruemmler-elizabeth-warren-class-war/
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50) Looking back on “Presidents’ Day”
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton
“The history of ‘President’s Day’ is a convoluted one. (Isn’t everything with government?) Legally, for the FedGov, it is officially still ‘Washington’s Birthday’ and just the calendar date was changed back in 1971, from 22 February to the third Monday in February. (Many States have officially changed the name; the common title reflects the popular belief that it also replaced any celebration of Honest Abe’s birthday (12 February) honored ‘all POTUS.’ Yup, even Nixon.) But since most of us treat this like ‘All Presidents’ Day’ (and absolutely nothing to do with the idea behind All Saints’ Day), let us look back at one of the few POTUS that has some really good things to say about him. Thomas Jefferson.” (02/16/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/02/16/looking-back-on-presidents-day/
_____ Today's Freedom Podcast and Video _____
51) Trump Watch, 02/17/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“FDR’s Oil Siege Got Us into WWII.” (02/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxSLVQI9Si0
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52) The Good Fight, 02/17/26
Source: Yascha Mounk
“Jacob Savage on the Costs of the Great Awokening.” (02/17/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/jacob-savage
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53) The Bryan Hyde Show, 02/17/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“It’s my weekly conversation with Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos and there is no shortage of thought-provoking topics to cover. Join us as we sift fact from fiction and look for the silver linings in the ongoing chaos.” (02/17/26)
https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-yd4iq-1a4ab17
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54) The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 02/17/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Press Sec’s Weird Cult Moment on Fox Wrecked by Fresh ICE Horror.” (02/17/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/206596/trump-press-sec-weird-cult-moment-fox-wrecked-fresh-ice-horror
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55) Law & Liberty Podcast, 02/17/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“A Forgotten Freedom?” (02/17/26)
https://lawliberty.org/podcast/a-forgotten-freedom/
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56) Fountainhead Forum, episode 427
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Sheldon Richman on Palestine before 1948 and how it impacts Israel now.” (02/17/26)
https://rumble.com/v75v9vc-ff-427-sheldon-richman-on-palestine-before-1948-and-how-it-impacts-israel-n.html
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57) The Corbett Report, episode 492
Source: The Corbett Report
“What’s Greenland REALLY About?” (02/17/26)
https://corbettreport.com/whats-greenland-really-about/
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58) Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 02/17/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Sen. Graham: US Troops Could Be ‘Hit’ in Iran War, Israel To Give Hamas 60-Day Deadline, and More.” (02/17/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXqpaN2dp2A
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59) My History Can Beat Up Your Politics, 02/16/26
Source: My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
“Bill Clinton’s 1993 — Part One.” (02/16/26)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mcmxciii-bill-clintons-1993-part-one/id169078375?i=1000750023655
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60) Pink Flame of Liberty, 02/16/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“Trump v. Wolff — Wolff fires BACK.” (02/16/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_UPTVPN-4o
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